The Tattoosday Book Review: 7 TattoosFirst and foremost, let me clear something up: 7 Tattoos by Peter Trachtenberg is a memoir and is not a book about tattoos. Oh, there are tattoos within, and stories about them and how they were obtained. But tattoos help form the context of the story within, and the ink is often secondary to the ac…
Cody's Eagle Braves the StormOn the day after Thanksgiving, I was passing through Penn Station and I spotted this tattoo:This depiction of an eagle flying through a storm belongs to Cody, who was in town visiting from Key West, Florida.This symbol of strength and courage enduring the dangers of a powerful storm is fitting, as C…
Tay's Angel Reminds Him of a Battle WonThere are many things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. I know that may cliché , but at its core, there is the kernel of truth. All it takes to remember this is to cross paths with someone who has overcome the odds to prevail in life.Yesterday I met Tay in the Borders on Penn Plaza, and he shared …
Doug's DragonBack on July 13, I posted a photo of Doug's Geisha. Doug was waiting around the Penn Station area before heading down to see Horisei, at tattoo artist working out of Rising Dragon's Chelsea Tattoo Company.Doug followed up his moment in the Tattoosday light by sending us photos of the work he had don…
Mike Shares Some More InkBack in May, I met a guy named Mike outside of Penn Station and he shared this tattoo with us.Occasionally, contributors who I have met on the street will send me a follow-up of additional tattoos that I didn't photograph the first time I met them. Mike was generous enough with his time and energy t…
Two Eclectic Tattoos from TGI will pace subway platforms, while waiting for my train, so that I may exercise a bit, and, let's face it, spot the occasional tattoo.After meeting TG on the 59th Street platform in Brooklyn, and talking tattoo with him all the way to 95th Street, he told me I was lucky he had removed his sweater b…
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The Tattoosday Book Review: Tattoo Machine by Jeff JohnsonFirst, a point of clarification. I write blog posts with the ideal blog reader in mind. The ideal blog reader being me. And what I have noticed over the years is, despite the interest in the subject matter, it is rare that a blog post will hold my attention longer than a few paragraphs. This is why …
Shom's ChakraI met Shom very briefly as he was about to board a train at Penn Station.Aside from shoulder pieces and Sanskrit text circling his upper left arm, he has a couple of other tattoos, including this one on his inner left forearm:This piece represents one of the many chakra for meditation.It was inked a…
Drew's Samoan CircleI met Drew in Penn Station and he shared this, one of his two tattoos:It's a cool design that he saw in an encyclopedia and took to an artist at State of the Art Tattooing in Southampton, New Jersey.Drew ascribed his own meanings to the piece, creating his own interpretation of the designs.The main …
Rebecca's Reiki Symbols of HealingLast week I met Rebecca, who was waiting for an Amtrak train in Penn Station.She had these tattoos on her inner wrists:I recognized that they were kanji, but I didn't know that they were reiki symbols.Reiki is a Japanese healing art, and Rebecca is a certified reiki practitioner.As part of her certi…
The Return of Sal's Ink - A Teacher's Inspiring WordsOnce in a while I check in with old Tattoosday contributors and I recently revisited Sal, who works at a video store (Mr. Video III) in Brooklyn Heights. You may recall his Guns 'N Roses tattoo (here).Earlier this year, he had this inscription tattooed on his inner right forearm:The phrase "not a mo…
Camila's Salute to Her Heritage and Her Home Town of RioBack in August, I met Camila in Penn Station after spotting an amazing tattoo wrapping around her lower left calf.The piece was still in progress, however, so we posted this tattoo instead.Over this past weekend I was pleasantly surprised when Camila sent me photos of her finished leg piece. Behold:…
The Tattoosday Book Review: The Missing InkAs tattooing has skyrocketed in popularity, the number of ink-related books hitting the shelves has multiplied like rabbits. I picked up a copy of Kat Von D.'s book at Borders the other day (read my review here) and was astonished to see it was in its eighth printing.A fresh tattoo-related title eme…
Derek Shares a Tattoo, Inspired by Snake EyesI met Derek Ostrander earlier this week outside of Macy*s flagship store on 34th Street.Derek is an illustrator who also works on visual installations for the department store.It was this tattoo that prompted me stop and ask what it was about:Derek explained that he was 19 or 20 when his friend Jay …
An Aries Neck TattooI met Stephen walking south on Sixth Avenue this week and I asked him about his neck tattoo:This is a symbol for the astrological sign Aries. Check out another Aries tattoo on the blog here.He had this done at Tattoo Nation in the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey.Stay tuned, he may be sending u…
No Hope But HomeI met Matthew walking through Penn Station last week. He has several tattoos, and shared this one with me:On his right arm, this traditional nautical star has been embellished with several design elements that personalize the tattoo.The banner "No Hope but Home" refers to lyrics from a song by a New…
Tattoos I Know: Paul, Part 4, or, The Great Cover-Up of 2008, continued...Late last December, we posted about our friend Paul getting some cover-up work done on his upper right arm. Revisit the report here.We recently checked in with Paul to see how things were going, and he updated us with the latest efforts by Horisei, who is about a session away from finishing this bea…
A Cinematic HeartI met Daniel last week on Seventh Avenue in the 20's.I spotted this tattoo peeping out from under his left shirt sleeve:Daniel was a film student at St. John's University, and this tattoo, cleverly designed with film reels as part of the heart, is a tribute to his love of film.I also spotted another…
A Traditional Naval Tattoo on a 21st Century ShipThe USS New York was put into service today by the United States Navy.Her hull was forged with steel salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.It's a momentous occasion indeed, and several crew members were in attendance with dignitaries earlier this week at the World Series.As is happens, …
Re-Post: Tattoos I Know - The Grim ReaperToday is a sad anniversary for us here on Tattoosday, for it marks one year since our friend, Tom Wacker, passed away unexpectedly.Tom was an early supporter of the blog, from its fledgling days as a once-a-week feature over on BillyBlog, and he watched us grow with a mixture of excitement and pride…
eL's Musical tattooLast month, much to my surprise, our old friend Paul (see his most recent work here) told me there was a tattoo shop nearby.I was surprised, to say the least. "New?" I asked him. "Been open over a year," he replied.I was puzzled. How had I missed a tattoo shop within walking distance of work? Was I …
Danny's Incredible TattoosOn occasion, I will wander from 7th Avenue to 8th Avenue, through the campus of F.I.T., hoping to spot some creative work. One of my first posts (documented here) featured tattoos from someone I met on that stretch of street.Last month, I ran into Danny, who had several very nice tattoos.First I too…
